Wednesday, 4 April 2018

Assignment on "Culture and Anarchy" by Matthew Arnold

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Name: Dharaba Rayjada
Semester: 2
Roll No.: 7
Paper No.: 6 Victorian Literature
Enrolment No.: 2069108420180045
Email id: dharabarayjada021@gmail.com
Year: 2017-19
Submitted to: Department of English Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

“Culture and Anarchy” by Matthew Arnold

Matthew Arnold was an English poet and cultural critic, who worked as an inspector of schools. He has been characterized as a Sage writer, a type of writer who chastises and instructs the reader on contemporary social issues and in his “culture and anarchy” he is doing the same. “Culture and Anarchy” is a series of periodicals essays, first published in Cornhill magazine 1867-68 and collected as a book in 1869. The preface was added in 1875. Arnold’s famous piece of writing on culture established his high Victorian cultural agenda. Which remained dominant in debate from the 1860s untill the 1950s.

Sweetness and light

The essay starts with the Latin line, “ Estote ergo vos perfecti” which means “Be ye therefore perfect”. In the very beginning Arnold told us that this all essay is about be perfect. This phrase ‘sweetness and light’ he take from the book of Jonathan swift, ‘Battle of Books’. Sweetness and Light is the first chapter of his essay, in which he talks about the culture and its importance. According to Arnold culture is moving towards the perfection. On the starting of this chapter he is talking about the curiosity. He says that everyone should have curiosity to know more about culture. He says, “pleasure is in seeing things as they are and it implies a balance and regulation of mind which not often attained without fruitful effort, and which is the very opposite of the blind and diseased impulse of mind which is what we mean to blame when we blame curiosity.”

Then he says there is another view of culture which look towards the love of neighbor, impulses action, help and beneficence, desire for removing human errors, clearing human confusion, diminishing human misery, and desire for leave world better and happier than past. So in his view it is not only about curiosity but also about perfection. He says to love perfection, is a study of perfection. If one is intelligent being yet more intelligent. Then he quote Bishop Wilson who says, “To make reason and the will of God prevail” in further Arnold says that to see things as they are, to get the universal knowledge, to be happy this all things make the will of God prevail and by all these things the true characteristics of culture is manifested.

Then he emphasizing on act rather then think. He says, “ It is in making endless addition to itself, in the endless expansion of its powers, in endless growth in wisdom and beauty, that the spirit of the human race finds its ideal. To reach this ideal, culture is an indispensable aid, and that is the true value of culture.” He says not a having and resting but a growing and becoming. He emphasizing on inward growth rather then outward growth like wealth. As he talk about perfection, he also says that it is not about individual perfection, it is about the perfection of whole society, the perfection in masses, so he thinks that everyone should take others also with themselves on the path of perfection.

Arnold called all industries and wealth a machinery. He says that all are now running behind machinery and he consider it the most dangerous thing. He says that if we continue to run after machinery like this then everything will be turned in machinery right from our freedom to the religious organization. We should run after pursuing the culture not machinery. He gave example of coal, that at that time people used to think coal as their greatness but Arnold says that it is not our greatness, our greatness is in having spiritual condition. Then he create an situation and says that if England will swallowed by sea tomorrow which England should be remembered? Then he compare his time with the time of Elizabeth which consider his time with the time of Elizabeth which consider as the time of splendid spiritual effort, and he says the time of Elizabeth should remembered.

Then he talk about the power of middle class people but he also says that now they all become philistines – the people who believe most that our greatness and welfare are proved by our being very rich, and who most give their lives and thoughts to becoming rich, according to Arnold these people are philistines. He believes that they have to change their view.

Then he talk about religion more important because it has broader scale for perfection, with greater masses of men. And he think religion as most considerable effort after perfection the human race has yet made. Then he consider puritans as the best who made effort to persuit religion. He says that though puritans failed at some level but then even their idea of perfection is appropriate. He thinks puritanism as necessary to grow the moral fiber of English people.

Then he also talk about democracy. At that time democracy is new and Arnold give it a name ‘Jacobinism’. At last he says that the man who works for sweetness also works for light, who works for light also works for sweetness but who works for sweetness and light both they also works to make reason and the will of God prevail. The pursuit of perfection, then, is the pursuit of sweetness and light – Arnold said.

Doing as one likes

As in first chapter Arnold talking about the sweetness and light and through that the journey to the perfection and the values and importance of culture. Here in this second chapter he is showing the danger of anarchy – doing as one likes.

He says that if everybody starts doing as they like the society will move towards the anarchy and he consider anarchy as the danger zone. He says that the whole society will ne chaotic, because, if everybody starts doing as they likes, killing as they like, hitting as they like, meet as they like, enter as they like, the whole system of society will disturbed. He further says that English society always tends to be in favor of personal liberties but he has fear of coming anarchy in English society.

He says that our thoughts and actions are always should be guided with the best light for that culture is beneficial not anarchy. For that he gave example of Hyde park protestors and dissenters to prove that how chaotic world would become as one likes. He also talk about the authority of people should be given to the one state and for that he talk about the ‘best self’, he says that, “it is ‘our best selves’ to whom the authority must be given. Because it is truest friend and when anarchy is a danger, to this authority we may turn with sure trust, culture suggests one to us in our best self.”

At last he says that, “first, never go against the best light you have, secondly, take care that your light do not be darkness.” So, these are the views of Arnold on anarchy.

Three classes

In this third chapter Arnold talking about the three class of the society, Barbarians, Philistines, and Populace. As they are normally known as aristocratic class, middle class and working class.

He gave the name Barbarians to the aristocratic class. Arnold says that this class have their own liberal practices and anarchical thoughts. The leisure class and the manners and outward great look everything comes to this class, but they don’t have inward greatness.

Arnold gave name Philistines to the middle class people. In a German sense Philistines means uncultured people. These are the people ho always busy in trade and commerce, and these are the one who brought material prosperity in society.

The third is Populace, the working class. They are the helper of the empire builders and they are exploited by both Barbarians and Philistines because of their poverty. Arnold consider them raw and half developed.

Arnold find mistake in three of the classes as according to him no one is perfect. Therefore he is talking about developing a best self, who will lead these three classes towards the perfectness and away from the machinery.

Hebraism and Hellenism

Hebraism and Hellenism, two different way of human life. Both are totally different from each other. Hebraism fall under the idea of Bible. They believe in religion and strictly follow the biblical idea. While on the other hand Hellenism fall under the idea of Hellenic beauty. Hebraism believes in action and Hellenism believes in thinking. Arnold also says that human prefer to act rather then think and he also says that human don’t think right always their thinking is also faulty.

Hebraism, as its strictly follows the bible, it also make people aware about sin and they always try to keep distance from sin. While Hellenism prefer to see things as they are and also find beauty in everything. Hebraism follows the strictness of conscience and Hellenism follows the spontaneity of consciousness.

There is some similarities in both of this term. Hebraism thinks bodily desire as an obstacle to the right action, and, Hellenism thinks bodily desire as an impediment of right thinking. So, both of them thinks body as an obstacle. Both of them have same concluding aim, the perfection and salvation of human.

While Arnold says that these both are important for perfection, so he believes in keeping harmony between of these idea and try to get perfect. As Socrates states that, “ The best man is he who tries to make himself perfect and the happiest man is he who feels that he is perfecting himself.”

Porro Unum Est Necessarium

The title is in Latin which says that, ‘but one thing is necessary’. Arnold says that everything which we posses but above all that things the man’s perfection is necessary. Everyone should have Sweetness and Light. English society is full of liberal ideas and the democracy is very new to English society at that time and because of that Arnold fear the anarchy, and he says that above all that things there should be control upon people as he also describes the harms of doing as one likes.

Like Hebraism and Hellenism there should be mutual understanding and balance. The society have many malice and from all that things one should come to the best of all point. English people have very big industries and wealth and science but One must have a standard and ideal of perfection and happiness.

At last Arnold talks about many problems in society and also try to give solution of that problems.

Conclusion

This is how Arnold tries to justify his views about culture and importance of culture. In this essay he describes very well that how culture is necessary and anarchy is harmful for English culture.

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